Ann Street Gallery out to prove fiber art not exclusively feminine

What is art? That's a question all artists wrestle with, but perhaps contemporary fiber artists even more so.

Deborah J. Botti

What is art?

That's a question all artists wrestle with, but perhaps contemporary fiber artists even more so.

Because of its foundation in domestic applications, the perception for some has been that fiber arts are "women's work," or crafts, and not fine art.

"Quilts, for example, used to be utilitarian. They kept us warm," says Virginia Walsh, the director and curator of exhibitions at the Ann Street Gallery in Newburgh. "But through the use of traditional and nontraditional techniques, there are endless possibilities not only for creativity but for illustrating artistic and scholarly perspectives. ... It's not gender-based anymore, although women are using fiber art to make gender statements, statements about feminism."

The exhibition then, titled "Materiality," which opens Saturday and runs through April 12, is not only aesthetically appealing but also intellectually challenging.

"Yes, it's about the materials, the fabrics, beautiful beads, the use of an expressive blood-red color or the contrast of black and white," Walsh says. "And while there is craft involved, it is not domestic and utilitarian; rather, there's a message coming through."

There are more than 40 works by 22 artists in the exhibition. Walsh says her approach was as it always is — to first find the artists and then select congruent pieces. In this case, there are two-dimensional and three-dimensional works in mixed media.

"It's not just textiles. Contemporary fiber artists reflect a long-standing experiment with materials, using everything from paper to hair," says Walsh. "Jenine Shereos wove hair — I'm not sure if it's hers — into three leaves, actually the leaf skeletons that you would see on the ground in the fall."

Walsh also points to Andrea Donnelly's wall-size installation, which is hand woven in four panels, a fairly traditional method but with a non-traditional subject matter: the investigation of the relationship between the physical body and mental space.

"And it wasn't made to keep the wall warm," she says, referencing a traditional quilt. "In another installation, Laurie Trok created a sculpture out of layers of cut paper and wood, casting shadows."

Walsh says the 1960s and '70s ushered in the first wave of fiber artists. The genre has continued to evolve as the artists shift not only the media in which they work but also the cultural or behavioral issues they are compelled to address. Through the use of mug shots, Joanne Arnett, for example, has incorporated a social issue into her work.

"They are demonstrating the cutting edge of experimentation. Like ceramicists, it's not just about that little clay pot," she says.

Statements from male fiber artists are also represented in this exhibition.

"Ruben Marroquin is a weaver who has hand-sewn a map of Manhattan," says Walsh. "Tod Hensley's hand-beaded works are expressed in configurations much like the iconography of the prehistoric imagery.

"The works are tactile and appealing, but the message shouldn't be eclipsed," says Walsh. "When you go beyond the surface, it's powerful."